1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I urge you to overturn the President’s March 14 executive order that aims to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services in communities nationwide. I love libraries and benefit from them literally every day, because I check out new ebooks daily. I read over 100 books a year from the library and more if you include the books, physical and electronic, that I read to my child. During the pandemic, reading kept me going. There's no way I or my parents could have afforded to buy all the books I've read throughout my life - it's only because public libraries exist that I've been able to read as much as I have. IMLS provides critical support to students, families, veterans, small businesses, job seekers, individuals with disabilities, and seniors. Libraries operate on just 0.003% of the federal budget, offering non-partisan, no-cost services that are essential to public access to information. Eliminating IMLS would have a deep and lasting negative impact on communities everywhere. In 2018, Congress reaffirmed the importance of IMLS by passing its reauthorization with bipartisan backing, and President Trump signed it into law. The executive order disregards this commitment to ensuring library access for all. I strongly oppose the dismantling of IMLS and call on Congress to reject this order and sustain funding for IMLS in fiscal year 2026. No one wants this!